GDHQNHL15_2pg-St. Louis Blues 2

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are ahead of him.
While Pietrangelo is the star of
this group, there are other players
of note that make this a solid area
for the team. Pietrangelo’s partner,
Jay Bouwmeester (4 goals, 33
assists), is no slouch on the ice.
Bouwmeester returned to the level
of play that made him a Norris
Trophy candidate early on in his
career as he surpassed 30 points for
the first time since 2008 when he
was with the Florida Panthers. His
return to this level of play allows Pietrangelo more freedom to roam in
the offensive zone.
While their top-pair defense is impressive, the depth the Blues have
on the blue line is scary. On the second-pair, Kevin Shattenkirk has made
himself known around the league as an offensively-gifted defenseman
as he put up 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) during the 2013-14 campaign.
Once the playoffs hit, he continued to produce as he led the team in
points in the postseason with five (1 goal, 4 assists). Expect more of the
same in the upcoming season.
Rounding out the top-four is longtime Blues defenseman Barret
Jackman. Jackman defines what the steady and reliable defenseman
should be as he has not strayed away too far from his level of
play in 12 seasons.
Goaltending
The Blues decided to let Ryan Miller go at the conclusion of the
season after acquiring him from the Buffalo Sabres during the year. With
that decision, the Blues return to a competition between incumbent
Brian Elliot and Jake Allen.
In limited time last season, Elliot impressed with a goals-against
average of 1.96 and a save percentage of .922. Since 2011, he has had a 1.86
goals-against average and .927 save percentage over that time. The issue
is that he hasn’t had to carry the load over the last few seasons as he was
splitting time with Jaroslav Halak, now with the New York Islanders.
Jake Allen did not play for the big club in St. Louis last year, but
impressed enough in his debut during the strike shortened-season of
2012-13 to be invited to compete for the starting job. He managed to play
in 15 games that season and came away with a 2.46 goals-against average
an underwhelming .905 save percentage. He will need to show more
improvement to take playing time away from Elliot in net.
Power Play
The St. Louis Blues had one of the more impressive power-play
units in the league in 2013-14 season. The Blues converted on nearly 20
percent (19.8) of their chances on the man-advantage which placed them
eighth in the league. That number was much better earlier in the year
and includes a stretch in April that saw the team score on only four of
49 opportunities.
The addition of Paul Stastny should further boost the power-play
unit in the upcoming season as he scored 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists).
An off-ice addition will also look to provide some help to the unit. Kirk
Mueller was brought in as an assistant in the off-season and will help run
the power-play. (58)
Penalty Kill
The Blues were one of the stingiest teams in the NHL last season as
they allowed only 188 goals for the season. It is no surprise that their
stingy nature translated well to the penalty kill. The team finished
second in the entire league last year in the penalty kill as they killed off
an astounding 85.7 percent of opportunities against them.
Paul Stastny
Scott Rovak/NHL/Getty Images
Defensive-minded forwards like David Backes and Steve Ott, and
top-tier defensemen like Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester,
they have led the charge while on the kill. If there is one area where the
team can improve in this area would be to show the ability to score while
shorthanded. The team scored six times while down a man last season,
good for 16th in the league last season.
Prediction
The question is not whether the Blues will make the playoffs or
not, but instead the question is how far will they go? They have the
talent to make a run at the Stanley Cup, now’s the time for the team
to carry their success into the playoffs.
Scoreboard
2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10
PLAYOFF FINISH Conf QF Conf QF Conf SF DNQ DNQ
REGULAR SEASON 52-23-7 29-17-2 49-22-11 38-33-11 40-32-10
POINT TOTAL 111 60 109 87 90
SHOOTOUT RECORD 9-3 5-1 4-10 6-5 7-5
GOALS SCORED 248 129 210 240 225
GOALS ALLOWED 191 115 165 234 223
POWER PLAY % 19.8 19.5 16.7 18.6 17.2
PENALTY KILL % 85.7 84.7 85.8 81.7 86.8